When Dave and I were at White Sands National Park, the landscape looked like hills of snow. As I walked barefoot in the white sand, my brain kept thinking “be careful, this could be slick” — equating the glistening sand with familiar icy hills.

How often does our survival brain kick in without us realizing? It loves patterns and repeating what we always do. You’re likely looking at your business in the “same old way” — and while that’s energy efficient for your brain, it may be tricking you into missing new developments.

When you open your financials, do you quickly scan to see if they match your expectations? What you may be missing are longer term, gradual trends. The way to keep our survival brain in the back seat is to get curious — be an anthropologist, digging into your books and seeing what stories they tell.